independent reading level: PK - 3 grade
awards:
None individually, though DePaola has received a bunch of cumulative recognitions.

Inspired from a Hungarian Folk Tale. About a hunter who gets tired and falls asleep, the animal trick him by taking his gun and bag away and changing the space. He gets bewildered and feels lost. Animal take pity and come to him and lead him back home.
The images have a rustic feel

The two elements of the book I enjoyed are the illustrations and the plot. Because this is a wordless picture book, the illustrations have to be understood easily by the reader in order for them to observe the plot. I believe Tomie de Paola did a great job portraying the plot. Since the pictures are almost set up comic book style, he numbered the illustrations so students could "read" the right picture in the right order. The pictures are also extremely colorful. Despite the book being about a hunter and animals, the animals he chose were very vibrantly colored, and even the hunter wears a green shirt, blue and gold jacket, pink striped pants,bright orange boots, and a brown, feathered cap - a pretty snazzy outfit for a hunter!

The plot was my other favorite element because it almost had a surprise ending. Once nightfall hits, the hunter accidentally falls asleep and then the animals steal his gun. But once they see he's lost and scared, they give him back his gun and help him back home. Right at the end, he turns his gun on them, but instead of shooting, he snaps it in half and they become friends. The plot is great for teaching about making predictions, since many students may not be able to predict what happens in the book. They have the opportunity to tap into their background knowledge about what hunters do in order to predict the plot and can discuss how the ending strayed from their beliefs. Also it's a good opportunity to talk about point of view. How does the hunter feel? How do the animals feel? The big idea of the book is to respect animals and nature. ( )

This is a picture book with no words. It is called the Hunter and the animals. Based on the pictures, I could guess this book would be about a hunter who wakes up and gets ready to go hunting. he grabs his gun but falls asleep while waiting for a catch. he wakes up when an owl calls and before he knows it he is surrounded byt the animals who turn out to be his friend. he doesnt kill any animals. I could use this book in my classroom with a struggling reader. I could get him to tell me about clues he sees and what he would think the book would be about.

This book is a wordless picture book. It has good illustrations showing a hunter who from the pictures eventually becomes friends with the animals of the forest. ( )